[LEJ8]

Has anyone adopted a child with bad teeth? I am looking at dvds of children available and one child's teeth are very yellow and crooked. I have no idea if these are permanent teeth or not. Does it matter? I'd hate to be dragging the child to the dentist as soon as he arrives to the USA, but they look really unhealthy. Any thoughts would help.

[DPline]

My son came home from Guatemala at age 20 months and had two crowns put on within 6 months. He has no enamel on his teeth due to either malnutrition or exposure to something inutero which had led to the decay. He has been home 3 years now and we have been able to prevent any further decay and are just hoping his permenant teeth are better.

I think about it this way . . . Many children come to the US with medical issues that need to be treated. Dental issues would be no different. You determine what needs to be done, when the child will be ready for the treatment to begin, and go from there.

Hope that helps!

[sak9645]

Dental problems are extremely common in internationally adopted children, as a result of:

a) Poor birthmother nutrition, especially (but not only) a lack of calcium-rich foods. Remember that many foreign birthmothers are poor and also lack access to medical care that might include prenatal vitamins and so on.

b) Poor birth family/orphanage/foster home nutrition, once the child is born. Poor children may not get adequate supplies of calcium and other nutrients.

c) Poor birth family/orphanage/foster home attention to dental hygiene -- toothbrushing, flossing, etc.

d) Limited access to dental care, or extremely primitive care that addresses problems mainly by pulling teeth.

e) Use of medications -- rarely used in American children -- that can permanently stain teeth, such as tetracycline.


Children often come home with problems that can include:

a) Weak enamel -- very common -- that predisposes teeth to development of cavities. The weak enamel may affect only the "baby" teeth, or it may persist (despite improved nutrition) in the permanent teeth. (My daughter's weak enamel has persisted, and she has already had cavities in permanent teeth, even though they came in long after she arrived home.

b) Stained teeth, often from tetracycline, but also from lack of brushing. May affect baby or permanent teeth.

c) Extensive tooth decay in baby or permanent teeth. Bottles of formula left in cribs at night are a major cause.

d) Gum problems.

e) Malpositioned teeth.

f) Broken or damaged teeth.

When you adopt internationally, it is a good idea to have your new child see a dentist almost as quickly as he/she sees a pediatrician. The dentist can collect some baseline data, see if there are any problems that require immediate attention, and recommend a course of action for longer term care.

In the U.S., many general or family dentists will not see a child until he/she is age 2 or 2.5, or until he/she has all of his/her baby teeth. Nonetheless, a younger child adopted internationally SHOULD be seen by a dentist. A visit to a pediatric dentist may be in order, if your family dentist will not see the child, if the child clearly has some serious problems, or if the child is terrified of the dentist. A children's hospital is often a good place to find a pediatric dental clinic, but many pediatric dentists do have private practices.

Be aware that, in some countries, dentistry is fairly primitive, and a child may have been held down while rather serious work was done without anesthesia. A child who has been through such treatment may be terrified of going to the dentist, and considerable time may have to be spent by both the parent and the dentist, reassuring him/her.

It is important to identify a dentist who is familiar with adoption issues, whether or not your child has fears because of past experiences. You certainly don't need a dentist who lays a guilt trip on you, because your child has cavities, when the fact is that you do a great job of brushing/supervising brushing; it's just that your child's birthmother had a bad diet because of extreme poverty.

Also, while many dentists insist that parents leave the room during treatment, since children often "put on a show" -- cry and carry on -- only when their parents are present, and since some parents convey their own anxieties about dentall treatment to their children. However, a child with attachment disorder or sensory integration problems, related to early life experiences, may need the presence of a parent.


Sharon

[GCS]

We had a pretty extreme situation with our son's teeth. He was 3 years old when we brought him home so we knew that they were all baby teeth.
Most of his teeth were either rotted completely below the gum line or pretty close.
He had rickets (calcium deficency causes problems with teeth) and was malnurished. He likely was given sugar water to fill him up as a toddler.
We found a specialist before we brought him home. You need a good pediatric dentist not just a dentist who also takes kids. We found one that specializes in special needs kids as our child would not know the language and would likely be a difficult patient those first few months.
He had 11 teeth pulled 10 days after we got home. The only reason we waited the 10 days was to let the antibiotic take effect. His mouth was full of infections. We brought him in to be checked the day after we came home because we saw while in Russia that his need was urgent.
A few months after having all those teeth pulled our dentist had an appliance built for him that worked like a retainer but was glued in and fastened to his back molars. This way he had some teeth in front and would learn to speak properly.
Last year at age 6 his permanent teeth started to come in. We had been watching for it (we are at the dentist every 2-3 months) so we were ready. The device was removed and today at almost 7 years you would not look at his mouth and know about any of his dental issues.
By the way his permanent teeth are fine. Good size and healthy. He has no cavities so far!

Feel free to pm me with any questions!
Christina

[julib23]

We adopted my daughter when she was 2 1/2 from Russia... while her teeth were straight, they were filthy and yellow (our guess was that she simply had really poor hygiene - not sure she had ever seen a toothbrush before we introduced her to it).

We were lucky. Her teeth were fine - not decayed at all, just really dirty - bad breath, etc. She just had a 4yr checkup at the dentist and all is still well.

What I'm trying to say is that pictures only show a part of the picture. Hope all goes well for you

[qs mom]

My son was almost 3 when brought home from Bulgaria.

His teeth were beautiful. People commented on how straight and white they were.

His baby teeth fell out at an early age, he had all his permanent teeth by the time he was 6. They're a little crooked, but I can live with it. The problem is he has many cavaties between his teeth that they feel developed before he came home.

Just remember looks can be decieving.

[starryeyes]

My son had teeth problems when he came home at 22 months, but I wouldn't trade him for the world. He did fine at the dentist. I still have to brush his teeth for him and he is almost 3 1/2, but it's worth it. He has the most beautiful smile in the world to me.